The Bounds Of Honor
by SqueakyTheDuck
Summary: When Jake and his friends are wrongly accused of murder, they are sent to a prison mine in another dimension. While there, they join forces with a hobgoblin named Levi and a Gargoyle named Kenya to expose the criminals behind this mining camp. Please R&R.
1. The Way all Bad Things Start

Not sure how I thought of this one, but I figured it would make a good fanfic. It's post Hong Kong Longs, as many of my stories are.

Jacob Luke Long, Jake to most people, an average boy in an average world. A dragon, destined to protect a not-so-average world.

Everyone who knew him would say that he was loyal, selfless, and dedicated to good over evil. He shared those qualities with his three best friends, Rose, Trixie, and Spud.

No one would have ever believed that these four teens would be convicted of murder. A murder that they did not commit. A murder they were framed for.

How did this whole thing start? It started as any other bad thing would. It started as a normal day.

When school let out for the day, the four friends had gone straight to Canal Street Electronics, owned by Jake's grandfather and dragon master, Lao Shi. Now, Trixie and Spud were locked in competition for first place in Spud's new racing video game.

Jake, on the other hand, since the defeat of the Dark dragon, had begun to take his dragon training more seriously than ever. Every day after school, he meditated for a solid hour before moving on to his usual chilling, hanging out, and goofing off.

Jake hovered in the air in a cross-legged position, his eyes closed, his breathing steady. Rose sat nearby, reading. Both paid no heed to the shouts from Trixie and Spud.

"Out of my way, Spudinski, that trophy is mine!"

"No! I shall be the owner of the illusionary cup from the world that doesn't exist!"

No one seemed surprised or worried when the small messenger pixie flew into the shop. But they would have been, had they known the contents of the message she carried. "Sign here." she said in her usual gruff, monotone voice.

Jake signed his name on the paper attached to the clipboard, as he always did. The pixie handed him an envelope, then flew off to deliver the rest of her mail for the day.

Jake opened the envelope, curious about its contents. He withdrew a perfectly creased sheet of paper. Unfolding it, he began to read aloud its message.

"Jacob Long, Trixie Carter, Arthur Spudinski, and Rose must report to the following address for their trial this Saturday at 2:00 PM."

Jake cocked his head in confusion. "What's that supposed to mean? What trial? I don't recognize this address."

Rose, Trixie and Spud gathered around him. The four friends studied the letter carefully, but none could recall any incident that could lead to a trial.

"Hey, Gramps." Jake called. "I think you should see this."

Lao Shi entered the front room, with Fu Dog trailing. The elder dragon plucked the letter from his grandson's hands. "Mmmm, strange." he said dubiously.

"What should we do?" Jake asked.

"Go to this place," Lao shi replied "But," he cautioned. "be wary. It could be some sort of misunderstanding, but it could also be a trap"

"We'll be careful, Grandpa." Jake promised.

Perhaps easier said than done.


	2. Sentenced to Exile

Sorry it's taken so long for me to update. I've got three stories in progress (please review Friend of Darkness if you read it), and I've been at camp for the past week. But I'm back now, so hopefully I'll be updating more frequently.

"Well, this is the place." Jake looked down at the slip of paper in his hand to confirm the address. An uneasy feeling flitted in his stomach. He didn't like the looks of this place.

It reminded him of an ancient castle belonging to a cruel ruler or evil conspirator. A large edifice of weathered stone stood before them. The windows were barred, and spiked turrets ran along the top of the outer wall.

Glancing over at his friends, Jake saw the same agitation on their faces that he felt. "I guess we can handle this." he said, trying to sound reassuring.

He stepped forward, acting braver than he felt, and placed both hands on the black metal handle attached to the large wooden door. He pulled, and the door slowly creaked open.

The four friends exchanged nervous glances before entering. Slowly and hesitantly they walked inside, into a dark room. The only light in the room shone down in the center of the floor, where a figure sat in a wicked-looking chair. The figure's face was hidden in shadow.

"So, you have come." The mysterious figure said. His voice was amplified and distorted by speakers, so as to conceal his true identity. The man motioned with one hand, and two trolls brandishing spears and dressed in uniforms—they were guards, Jake guessed—stepped out of the shadows behind the four teenagers.

The guards pressed their staffs lightly against Jake, Rose, Trixie and Spud, forcing them to move forward. They now stood only meters away from the strange man, yet they still could not see his face.

"The four of you," the man said. "have been called here in regards to the murder of Terimoku the Great, one of the finest political leaders in the magical world."

"What?!" Jake exclaimed. "What are you talking about? We did nothing of the sort! I knew Terimoku. He was a dragon, and a fine and fair politician. What reason would _we_ have to kill him?"

"Is it not true that he once put you in prison?" the man pointed out.

"Yes." Jake replied. "But it was all a misunderstanding. He let me go as soon as he realized that. Besides, I—we," he corrected, looking over at Rose, Trixie and Spud. "would never kill anyone. Haven't I built a good reputation in the magical communtiy, one that could assure you that I would not commit a murder?"

"Yes," the figure agreed. "You have built a fine reputation, but we have witnesses."

"That's impossible." Rose spoke up. "How can you have witnesses to something that didn't happen?"

The mysterious man gestured again. A young elf boy stepped forward. His eyes looked empty and hollow. He began to describe a horrible scene of a dragon and three humans brutally beating and stabbing Terimoku to death.

Jake was outraged, but he kept a calm expression as the next witness, a merman displaying the same haunted eyes as the elf boy, came forward and described the same scene in his own words.

The merman was followed by a giant, then a pixie. Witness after witness testified to the same murder scene as the one before them.

"Perhaps," Jake said in a reasoning tone. "It was a misunderstanding. I can't be the only red and gold dragon in the world, right?"

"There are others," the shadow-cloaked man agreed. "But what of your human friends? They, too, match every witnesses' description of the three humans involved in the murder."

He gave a dissmissive wave. "But, no matter arguing over it. We have enough evidence to convict you. The four of you are hereby sentenced to exile in the Teltar dimension, where you will spend the rest of your lives working in the mining camp, Tartarus."

"What?!" Jake exclaimed. "But we didn't kill Terimoku!"

"According to these witnesses, you did." the mysterious man replied. "Take them away."

With that, the two guards stepped forward and dragged Jake and his friends out of the room, torwards a sinister black elevator that would lead them straight to Teltar…


End file.
